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1990 British Grand Prix
15 July |officialname = XLIII Foster's British Grand Prix |circuit = Silverstone Circuit |location = Northamptonshire, UK |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 4.778 |laps = 64 |distance = 305.792 |pole = Nigel Mansell |polenation = GBR |poleteam = |poletime = 1:07.428 |fastestlap = 1:11.291 |fastestlapdriver = Nigel Mansell |fastestlapnation = GBR |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 51 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Thierry Boutsen |secondnation = BEL |secondteam = |third = Ayrton Senna |thirdnation = BRA-1968 |thirdteam = }} The 1990 British Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XLIII Foster's British Grand Prix, was the eighth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on the 15 July 1990.'British GP, 1989', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr492.html, (Accessed 29/06/2019) The race, which marked the halfway point in the 1990 campaign, would see Alain Prost claim his fourth victory of the season, and hence move to the top of the Championship. Qualifying would see Nigel Mansell secure a popular pole position in front of his home fans, defeating quali-star Ayrton Senna. Gerhard Berger was third in the second , while Thierry Boutsen put his ahead of Prost's in fifth. A huge crowd gathered for the race start, although they were to suffer some early disappointment when the Mansell was beaten off the line by Senna. Mansell would, however, try to challenge the Brazilian into Stowe, but had to back down, while Berger and Boutsen watched on in third and fourth. Senna and Mansell quickly eased clear at the head of the field, with Senna pushing hard to try and escape the Brit's attentions. That, ultimately, proved impossible for the Brazilian, with Mansell squeezing back ahead of the McLaren-Honda to prompt huge cheers from the home crowd. Senna's attempts to retaliate were ultimately ended by a spin a few laps later, prompting the Brazilian to make an early stop after rejoining down in fifth behind Prost. Mansell, meanwhile, would continue to build his advantage at the head of the field, only to lose a lot of pace during lap 22 due to a glitch with his semi-automatic gearbox. Mansell would briefly drop behind Berger, before his gearbox seemed to reset and allow him to catapult himself back past the #28 McLaren. However, both were beginning to come under pressure from Prost in the sister Ferrari, with the Frenchman duly cruising past Berger on lap 31. Prost would sit in behind Mansell for several laps, waiting until Mansell's pace dropped off again as his gearbox issue returned. A simple move on lap 43 saw the #1 Ferrari move into the lead, with Mansell left to wait for his gearbox to completely fail a few laps later. Ivan Capelli, meanwhile, was once again causing a stir in the , catching and passing Berger to inherit second, only for a split fuel pipe to end his race. Mansell, meanwhile, would walk back to the pits before announcing to a group of journalists that he would retire at the end of the season, just as the race entered its final throes. Ultimately there would be no major on-track action to overshadow Mansell's announcement, although Berger would drop out of the race with a broken throttle. Prost, meanwhile, would cruise home to claim victory ahead of Boutsen, while Senna recovered to third ahead of Éric Bernard, Nelson Piquet and Aguri Suzuki. Background A third win of the season for Alain Prost last time out in France had ensured that the Frenchman was solidly in title contention, having left Paul Ricard just three points off the lead. Indeed, Ayrton Senna had seen his Championship effectively cleaved in two in France, with his arch-rival bearing down. Gerhard Berger, meanwhile, had lost ground in third ahead of Nelson Piquet, while Ivan Capelli was up in the top ten after becoming the fifteenth scorer of the season. would, as ever, leave France at the head of the Constructors Championship hunt, heading into the former's home race with a fifteen point lead. were still their closest challengers, moving onto 45 points, with clear air between the Scuderia and third placed . and completed the top five, while had rocketed up to sixth from thirteenth after their maiden podium finish. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Results The full entry list for the is outlined below: Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Gugelmin was unable to take the start after a fuel pump failure. Grid ** Gugelmin was unable to start the race due to a fuel pump failure. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Berger was still classified despite retiring was he had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * 200th Grand Prix start for Riccardo Patrese.'8. Britain 1990', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 29/06/2019) * 25th race entry for Aguri Suzuki.'1990 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1990&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 29/06/2019) * Gregor Foitek entered his twentieth Grand Prix. * Éric Bernard secured his tenth Grand Prix entry. * entered their eighth and final race as an engine supplier. * 43rd career victory for Alain Prost. * registered their 101st win as both a constructor and engine supplier. * Maiden points finish for Suzuki. Standings It had taken until the halfway point of the season but there was finally a new name atop the Championship table, with Alain Prost moving to the top of the Championship. Ayrton Senna, former leader, slipped to second and two points behind his arch-rival, with those two set to duel for the title over the rest of the season. Gerhard Berger was next, sixteen off the lead, while Nelson Piquet and Thierry Boutsen completed the mid-season top five. would head into the second half of the season still in command of the Constructors Championship, although their advantage had been chipped away again on home soil. Indeed, would enter the second half of the season just ten off the leaders, while also holding double the number of points of third placed . were next ahead of , with ten constructors on the board with half the season gone. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1990 Grands Prix Category:British Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom